The 28 year old standing skier, who was born without legs below her knees and no left arm below her elbow, delighted the home crowd by dominating the five events that she entered - the giant slalom, slalom, super-G, downhill and super combined.

Her five gold medals in one Games make Woolstencroft one of the two most decorated female athletes in a single Winter Paralympics alongside 2010 Nordic star Verena Bentele of Germany.

And the remarkable feat also puts her into the history books alongside Canadian Paralympians Stephanie Dixon and Chantal Petitclerc, each of whom has won five gold medals at a single Summer Games, a feat Petitclec managed twice.

The electrical engineer though, who now has 10 Winter Paralympic medals from four Games, admitted that she is truly surprised by her remarkable success and that claiming five gold medals in Vancouver was beyond her own expectations.

Woolstencroft said: "I lost a ton of races in the World Cup [in 2009] and it may have been my weakest year ever.

"But I came back in February and I worked and trained really 

"As a result, I was really confident coming into these Games but I never expected to win every race.

"Everything worked in my favour and I feel extremely lucky.



"I’m pretty mentally tired but obviously I had great confidence coming in here and was super prepared.

"I knew I had the potential but you just never know it’s going to be that good."

Following the Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee chose Woolstencroft to carry the flag into Whistler Medals Plaza for the Closing Ceremony last Sunday (March 21) and the skier admits that she was slightly overwhelmed by the huge honour.

She said: "It was never my goal to carry the flag as I was really focused on my own performance.

"It was such a big surprise [to be asked] and I was obviously really humbled."

Following her immense success, Woolstencroft, who made her debut in the Games at the Nagano 1998 Winter Paralympics in Japan, hopes that her performances in Vancouver can help elevate the event to a higher stature amongst mainstream viewers.

She said: "People are finally starting to realise that the Paralympics are not just about showing up.

"It is serious competition and I love it."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]